1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to social communities. More particularly, the present invention relates to ways for users of mobile devices to discover others with similar interests, to form social communities with those people, and to seamlessly interact with other members of a social community regardless of the hardware and software each member may be using.
2. Background of the Invention
Mobile devices have become ubiquitous in today's society. Many people have abandoned traditional “land-line” telephones in favor of mobile telephones and devices. Others plan their daily lives using personal digital assistants (PDAs). These devices grant people the opportunity to connect with others in ways not possible before.
However, despite the advances in technology, connecting with others who share common interests remains difficult. A user must first locate one or more other people who share common interests. The devices she owns will not be able to do this for her, or to help her in any significant way, so she must look for others on her own. Users can search online services for groups sharing her interests. However, these groups will not be able to dynamically share content with her or her devices. These groups are generally limited to interacting via fixed landline devices, over the Internet, with limited access to information with their community in a mobile context. This prevents a user from making full use of the advantages offered by mobile networks and associated mobile devices.
Even if the user manages to somehow find a group of people who shares common interests, interacting with the group is difficult with conventional technology. For example, a marathon runner may wish to share videos of her finishing a race with others in her group. However, present technology makes such sharing difficult. The user could burn the video onto a DVD and send it to the other members of the group. However, this is expensive and time-consuming. The user may wish to send the video directly from her mobile device to the devices of the other members. Present technology does not provide the user with a way of knowing which of her members is capable of receiving or viewing the video. Further, if one member uses a different video format, the user would have to first translate the video into a format compatible with that member's device prior to sending the video to that member.
Present technology also presents difficulties for people wishing to interact across platforms. Applications running on mobile devices, personal computers, or Internet protocol enabled entertainment devices (such as IP-enabled digital video recorders) operate using different platforms and protocols. It is difficult for a user using one platform or application to interact with other users or other applications on different platforms.
Conventional technology does not permit a user to interact seamlessly with others users across a network. What is needed is a way for users to discover, create or enhance social communities of users who share at least one common interest. What is further needed is a way for members of social communities to interact with one another through any network regardless of the functionality of each user's devices or whether the network is fixed or mobile.